Quick tightening machine-tool vise



March 4, 1952 A. A. BAHUAUD v 25,588,073

QUICK TIGHTENING MACHINE-TOOL. VISE Filed June 26, 1947 4 Sheets-SheetI l AS .s

@A ENKA QQ A. A. BAHUAUD QUICK TIGHTENING MACHINE-TOOL VISE March 4, 1952 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed June 26, 1947 4 GEA/f5 March 4, 1952 A. A. BAHUAUD QUICK TIGHTENING MACHINE-TOOL. VISE Filed June 26, 1947V 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 VFW MMV@

March 4, 1952 A. A. BAHUAUD QUICK TIGHTENING-MACHINE-TOOL VISE 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed June 26, 1947 Patentecl Mar. 4, 1952 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE Application June 26, 1947, Serial No. '757,230 In France February 28, 1946 Section 1, Public Law 690, August 8, 1946 Patent expires February 28, 1966 9 Claims.

The present invention relates to a machine-tool vise of the type having a movable jaw and a shoe, both adapted to slide on a guiding member secured tov a stationary jaw, in a direction at right angles to clamping faces of the jaws, locking means being adapted to lock the shoe on the stationary guiding member, and clamping means being adapted to move the movable jaw and the shoe relatively to each other.

One object of the present invention is to provide means for automatically locking the shoe on the stationary guiding member at any position on said guiding member when clamping the movable vjaw against a workpiece.

Another object of the invention is to provide connecting means between the movable `iaw and the shoe adapted to exert a downward force on the movable jaw and to tend to lower said movable jaw positively with relation to the shoe, when the clamping means tend to move the movable jaw towards the stationary jaw and to move the shoe away from said stationary jaw.

In the accompanying drawings, which are given only by way of example:

Fig. 1 is a vertical composite section of a rst embodiment of a vise along the lines I-I and I-I' of Figure 3 passing respectively through the axis of symmetry of the locking blades for 'the shoe and through the axis of the tightening screw.

I Fig. 2 is a partial transverse vertical section 'along the line 2-2 of Fig. 3.

Fig. 3 is a horizontal section of said vise. Fig. 4 is an explanatory diagram of the locking device for the shoe. Fig. 5 is a longitudinal vertical composite sec- "tion 'of a second embodiment taken along the lines 5-`5 and 5'-5' of Figure 8 passing respectivelythrough the axis of symmetry of the lockingblades for the shoe and through the axis of the "tightening screw.

Fig. 6 is a partial vertical section along the line 6-6 of Fig. 8.

Fig. 7 is another partial vertical section along the line 'I--'I of Fig. 8 showing the shape of a exible blade of the locking means for the shoe,

' and the cross-section of the members connecting the movable jaw comprising a separately tted cheek.

2 Like numerals designate like parts in all the figures.

According to the embodiment of Figures 1 and 2, the vise comprises a stationary jaw I, secured to abase 2 in which are provided inverted T- shaped longitudinal grooves 3, and a movable jaw 4 secured to an inverted U-shaped frame 5 and a rear cross-member II. Said frame (5-I I) is connected by means of two vertical flexible metal blades 5 and 'I to a shoe 8 adapted to slide on the base 2.

The blades 6 and 'I are fixed by any suitable means, for example by means of rivets or screws 4l), 4I, to the cross-members 4 and II and the shoe 8.

At the rear in the cross-member I I of the frame is provided a bore I2 for passing a horizontal screw I3 which is arranged in the axis of the movable assembly and passes loosely through the blade 'I which is provided for this purpose with a hole of suicient size and screws into a tapped hole 42 of the shoe 8. Said screw I3, which is provided with a head I5 with several sides for controlling it from outside, is held in the longitudinal position by its collar I6 and by a plate II which is fixed to the cross-member II.

According to the invention, the shoe 8 is provided, on its lower face, opposite each groove 3 of the base 2, with a cavity 44 of rectangular cross-section and, on its upper face, with a. cut out portion 45 having a shape abcdef of greater width than that of the cavity 44, it being possible for said cut out portion to extend in a direction at right angles to that of Fig. 1, over the entire width of the shoe. Said cut out portion intersects the or each cavity 44 in such a manner as to form on the edges of said cavity two bearing surfaces 46. On the two bearing surfaces thus formed bear downwardly, by the lower edges of two lateral wings 4'I and 48 (Fig. 2), steel blades 49 which are pressed against one another. Said blades 49 are T-shaped in front elevation (see Fig. 2). They are provided in their bases with a T-shaped or like recess 50, by means of which each of them is passed over the head 5I of a slider 52 of double T-shape, housed with a width- Wise clearance in the groove 3 of the base 2, whereby the movable jaw, together with the shoe 8 may assume a sloping position in the traverse direction so as to enable the jaw to adapt itself to the possible non-parallelism of the opposite clamped faces of the workpiece.

The bundle of blades 49 is held on the slider 52 against two lateral abutments 54 by means of a plate 55 xed by means of screws 56 or other- Vthis direction there is no clamping.

Wise to the slider. Preferably, the opposite faces of the plate and of the abutments 54 of the slider have a slight outward taper towards the top in order to allow the bundle of blades to rock slightly. Furthermore, a bearing member 51, engaged in the opening 45 of the shoe 8, to which it is xed by means of screws 58 or otherwise, bears downwardly against the top of the bundle of blades and prevents it from moving upwards when unclamping.

To the slider 52 is xed, towards the rear, by

screwing or otherwise, a rod 59. Said rod passes l loosely through the shoe 8, the blade 1, the crossmember II and is provided, outside said crossmember, with a stop nut and a lock-nut 6I.

Finally, a coil spring 62 is arranged on the rod 59 between the slider 52 and the wall of the cavity 44 of the shoe 8.

The operation is as follows:

For clamping a part I8 between the jaws I and 4, the movable jaw assembly, i. e. the shoe 8 with its slider 52, the frame (5, II) and the jaw 4, is moved towards the left as a whole, on the base 2,. At this instant the spring 62 holds the nut 60 against the cross-member II. As soon as the jawis in contact with the part I8, clamping is eiected by rotating the screw I3 in the direction which screws it into the part 8. This produces ay relative movement ofthe frame (5, I I) and the shoe 8. The` frame (5, II) clamps the part I8 whereas the shoe 8 tends to move towards the right. It carries with it the upper ends of the blades 49. which` may be assimilated (Fig. 4) to a link 49a which is pivotally connected, on the one hand to the shoe 8 at O1, and on the other 1.

hand to the slider 52 at O2. The assembly comprising the slider 52, the blades 49 and the shoe 8k is nothing more than the well-known clampingY device comprising blocks 8a and 52a connected` to one another by a linkV 49a (Fig. 4). With such a device, as can be seen, as soon as tightening is started, since the slider or block 52a cannot slide owing to its friction against the guideway .3, the force F2 exerted on the block 52a in .the directionv O10z owing to the tightening force F1 forms with the perpendicular to the bearing surface 3 an angle a which .is smaller by constructionthan the angle of friction qu. Under these conditions, the more the force. F1v acts, the

Imore 52a isjammed.

In an identical manner, the greater. is the tightening force ofthe vise, and provided that they slider 52 already has. a tendency tov adhere in then groove 3, the greater will be the adhesion of: the. slider to the base .2, since in this construction, as in the theoretical. construction, the dimensions and shapes are such that the angle a of...the force F2 is smaller than the angle p of friction of the blades against their two bearing surfaces. and of the slider 52 against the upper faces of the groove 3.

When at the beginning of the operation, the

assembly formed by the movable jaw, the shoe and the slider has been pushed towards the stationary jaw, it was possible to push the movable jawforwards, towards the left (Fig. 1) since in On the other hand, as soon as tightening bymeans of the screwy I3 begins, the slider 52 and the shoe 8 are locked. The initial adhesion required for the locking is produced by the spring 62 which, even before the tightening, tends vto move the slider 52-relatively to the shoe 8 towardsthe left (Fig. 1) thereby increasingV the slopeof the blades -49 and, consequently,.produces. the initial adhe- LII) lto

sion required for locking the slider and the shoe to the guideway 2.

The assembly 4, 5, II rests on the base 2 when the blades 6 and 1 are vertical. But when said assembly 4, 5, II tends to move towards the stationary ljaw I by the action of the tightening screw I3 entering into the shoe, the blades 6 and 1 which are retained at their lower part by the locked shoe 8 follow at their upper part the movement of the assembly 4, 5, II, thus causing a resilient elongation of the blades 6 and 1 corresponding to a tensile stress between the shoe and the assembly 4, 5, II. Since the shoe is pressed upon the base by the blades 49, the movable jaw 4 is pulled downwards and cannot be lifted away from its base 2.

It should be observed that the backward movement of the movable jaw at the end of the operation would be impossible without an auxiliary device which pulls the slider 52 towards the right relatively tothe shoe 8 and thereby eliminates the locking adhesion. This is the purpose of the rod 59. In fact, when unclamping, i. e. when, by means of the screw I3, the frame (5, II) is moved towards the right relatively to the shoe 8, the cross-member- II, after eecting a travel e', encounters the stop nut supported by the rod 59. Said rod is moved towards the right, pulls the slider 52 and, as the shoe 8 is still locked. the blades 49 tend to become vertical (see Fig. 4 in which the point O- would move towards the right) thereby automatically unclamping the parts 8 and 52. The movable jaw assembly can then be moved towards the right.

AsA can be seen, by means of the device described, clamping and unclamping are absolutely automatic.

According to the embodiment of Figs. 5 to 9, the vise comprises a stationary jaw 1D secured to a base 1I in which are provided longitudinal grooves 12 of inverted T-s'nape and a movable jaw 13 rigidly assembled by means of screws or otherwise to the frame 14 which is of the shape of an inverted box from which the front vside is missing and is replaced by the jaw 13. The movable jaw 13 is connected by means of a vertical exible blade 15A toy a shoe 16 sliding on the base 1I. The blade 15 is fixed by any suitable means for example by means of rivets 11, to the movable jaw 13 and to the shoe 16.

Inthe rear cross-member 18 of the movable frame 14 is provided a bore 19 for passing a horizontal screwv which is arranged in the axis ofv the movable system and screws into a tapped hole 8l of the shoe 16. Said screw 80, which has a head 82 with several sides for enabling it to be controlled from outside, is held in the longitudinal position byl its collar 83 and by a plate 84 which is xed to the rear of the movable frame.

The shoe 16 is provided, opposite each groove 12fof the table 1I, with a cavity 85 of rectangular cross-section and on its upper face with a cutout portion 86 of the shape abode which may extend over the entire width of the shoe so as to form on the edges of each cavity two surfaces 81 against which bear downwardly, by the lower edges of two wings 88vand 89 (Fig. 6), steel blades 90 which are pressed against one another. Said blades are of I-shape in front elevation and are provided with two lower wings 9|4 which are adapted to bear against bars 92 of a slider 93 lodgedin thegroove 12 of the base 1 I.

The bundle of blades 90 is held on the bars 92,4

at the rear by the slider 93 and at the front byz a cross-member 94 connecting the two bars 92 by means of tapered pins 95 or otherwise, the slider 93 and the cross-member 94 being of such a shape as to vallov/ of a slight tilting of the blades 99. Two springs 96 and 91 which are xed by means of screws or otherwise underneath the shoe, opposite the sliders, facilitate the separation of the bars 92 from the overlying bearing surfaces of groove 12 when unclamping. Into the slider 93 is screwed at the rear thereof a screw 98 which passes through the rear wall 18 of themovable frame 14 and the head of which is adapted to bear against the outside of said wall. Finally, a coil spring 99 is arranged on the Screw 98 between the slider 93 and the rear wall 18 of the movable frame.

The frame 14 can slide on two cylindrical guides or studs I 99 which are secured to the shoe 16 and engage in corresponding bores of the rear wall 18 of the frame 14. Said studs |99 act as guides for the frame 14 at the rear and ensure the correct movement of said frame.

A compression bar |93 adapted to slide loosely in a groove I 94 of the shoe 16 braces the movable jaw 13 and the rear wall 18 of the frames 14 and is held in position by two small positioning pins |95 located at each end and penetrating slightly into the jaw 13 and the wall 18.

. The movable jaw 13 rests against thebase 1| .of the stationary jaw only by means cfa narrow bearing surface |98 in such a manner that the bent portion |91 is not supported at the rear and can bend when a downward vertical force is exerted on the jaw 13 owing to the increasing slope of the flexible blade during the tightening.

The separately tted cheek |98 of the stationary jaw '|9 has an inclined face |99 which bears directly with its lower part I9 on a cooperating face of the stationary jaw 19 and with its upper part on a bundle of blades ||2 at right angles to their faces, said blades bearing against the stationary jaw 19 and the separately fitted cheek |98. Said blades ||2, which perform the function of rollers eliminating the sliding friction, are held in a suitable position on one side by a plate ||3 of rectangular cross-section which is fixed to the separately fitted cheek |98 and on the other by a thin corrugated spring ||4 (Fig. 9) bearing against a shoulder ||5 of the jaw |98. Two screws 6, screwed in a tapping of the cheek |98, are locked by lock-screws ||1, the adjustment being effected in such a manner that a perfect contact is obtained between the cheek |98 andthe stationary jaw 19 without appreciable pressure. Said screws pass loosely through the stationary jaw so that they are free transversely between their head and the cheek |98 Vwhich rests against the end ||8 of an overhanging flexible tongue ||9 integral with the stationary jaw 19.

The operation is as follows:

The screws 98 are adjusted in such a manner that when themovable jaw is at the end of its rearward travel, the bars 92, urged by the springs 96 and 97, move slightly away from their bearing surface in the grooves 12' of the base 1| of the stationary Iiaw 19 so as to permit the movable jaw system to slide readily on the base 1| of the stationary jaw 19.

The part'to be clamped |22 being placed on 'wedges |29 and 2|, the movable jaw is moved ,forwards by hand against the part so that this latter is firmly in contact both with the movable jaw and withA the stationary jaw.

The side play in the grooves 12 enables the movable jaw to be orientated slightly in order to obtain this contact in a suitable manner if the two faces to be clamped are not absolutely parallel.

Next, the tightening screw 89 is actuated and causes the shoe 16 to move backwards, since the movable jaw 13 cannot move further forwards.

The bars 92 remain stationary in the longitudinal direction, because they are connected to `the frame 14 by the action of the heads of the screws 98 and of the springs 99.

As the shoe 'I6 moves backwards, it produces on the one hand an inclination of the flexible blade 15 which iirst tends to cause the shoe 16 to move upwards, the movable jaw 13 resting with its part |96 against the base 1|, and on the other hand an increase in the slope of the blades 99 which tends to lift the bars 92 and bring them into contact with their bearing surface in the grooves 12.

From this instant, there is adhesion of the bars 92 in the groove 12 and as the force which presses them against their bearing surface is directed along the axis of the blades, forming with the perpendicular to ,said surface a smaller angle than the angle of friction, they can no longer slide in the grooves 12.

As the tightening movement continues, the shoe 16 moves more and more backwards, and the blades 99 have to become elongated, which subjects them to an increasing tensile stress which presses the shoe 16 more and more firmly against the base 1| of the stationary jaw. At'the same time, the blade 15, as it becomes more and more inclined, tends to press the movable jaw 19 more and more firmly against the base'H. thereby causing the bent portion |91 of the jaw 13 to bend andiinally producing a downward movement of the movable jaw 13 and consequently the compression of the clamped part |22 against the wedge |29 which supports it on the movable jaw side.

It will be observed that, upon clamping the work piece between the jaws, a spring 99 enables the slider to remain stationary during a slight movement of the movable jaw towards the work piece, the latter being caused by an elastic deformation of that area of said movable jaw 13 in contact with said piece |22.

0n the other hand, the tightening force, owing to the inclination of the bearing face of the separately tted cheek |98 against the stationary jaw 19, has a vertical component which presses said cheek |08 against its` lower rest formed by the flexible tongue ||'9, which bends and enables the cheek |98 to move sufficiently downwards to compensate the; lifting of the part from the wedge |2| which occurs with a stationary jaw which is not provided with this device; The screws IIS only offer a negligible resistance to the very slight movement of the separately fitted cheek |98, since they are loosely mounted in stationary jaw 19 and can bend and rock slightly.

If a is the angle which the oblique bearing face of the separately tted cheek forms with the vertical, qi the angle of sliding friction on the lower part ||9 of said face, and if the friction on the. rest is considered to be practically nil because ofthe blades ||2 acting as rollers, if Fi ausm-ors and the vertical'. component of the: force `l'on the separately fitted cheek. l08iis:.

F1- tan (a1-.92). -l-Fztane If F1 =F, F2=0, case in which, the partg-is clamped right opposite the' rest H0, the compcinentis:l

F tan. (zz-(pf).

If '1F2=F,1'F1=0, case in which the'part is clamped-at the top right opposite the rest `l H, the component is:

F tan a.

It isfobvious thatthe force acting to lowerthe separately fitted -cheekWUB-fwill be greater for az given: tightening forcefF as the part is clamped higher.

Now the lifting of the part I22`with an ordi.- narystationary jaw would be more pronounced as the part is clamped higher.

It isY therefore possible to compensate inv practice'- this lift by a corresponding lowering` of the separately fitted cheek |08, so that the part no longerr lifts offV its wedge I2I but is slightly pressed against said'wedge.

The movable jaw mayibe proviedd with a separately iitted cheek arrangedexactlyin. the same manner as inthe stationary jaw 1.0. Fig. 10` shows the movable jaw 13' providedwith the separately 1 iittedcheek` |08 having an inclined face |09 which bears withV its-lower part directly on` a cooperating face of the jaw 13' and with its upper part I'll on a bundle of blades` H2' under the action of a spring H4. a perfect contact between thecheek I ll'and'the jaw 13. The cheek |08 rests on the end H8 of an overhanging tongue H9 integral with the movable jaw. Said separately fitted cheek |08' has the same function astheV cheek |08v in the stationary jaw 'l0 and. replaces the-bent portion |01 of` Fig. 5.

The advantage of the foregoing devices for compensating the lifting ofthe part, both on-the stationary jaw side and on the movable Ejaw side,

over some devices having wedge-shaped jaws which can slide and which are held in the high position by very flexible springs, is that, contrary to what occurs withthe latter, the use of wedges under the part is not necessary Vfor stabilising the height of the part to be clamped during the tightening action.

The invention is obviouslyl not-limited tothe embodiments illustrated and describedv which have only been given by way of-examples and f' modifications may be made therein without eX- ceeding the scope of the invention.

What I claim is:

1. A machine-tool vise comprising-in combination a stationary jaw provided with a substantially vertical clamping face and with a substantially horizontal fixed guiding member directed at right angles to; said clamping face` andl providedwith at least one substantially lhorizontal inverted T-shaped groove extending at rightangles to the clamping face of said stationaryjaw;. a movable jaw providedwith a clamping face substantially parallel to the clamping face of the stationary jaw and slidable on said guiding member'toward and away from the clamping =faceof said'station'- ary jaw, a shoe slidable. onsaidguidingmember, a slider' slidable in` said; groove of said. guiding member, a bundle of juxtaposed locking blades bearing downwards on an upper part of said shoe and upwards on a lower face of said slider, said v Screws IIS provide for Il.

8 locking bladesy being tilted"` at such` an. angle .that said movable jaw, said. shoe andl said sliderL can move asaunit toward and away from-said'stationary jaw, and tightening means engaging said movablefjaw and. said shoe to move. the movable jaw andthe shoe relatively to each other for. .increasing the angle of tilt of. the locking bladesand fonlocking theshoe and slider on said guiding member,y andtowfurther move the movable jaw. and. theshoe relatively to eachother so.l as to force themovablejaw toward the stationary. jaw after locking of the shoe andslider on the guiding member-,the tightening effort increasing with. the inclinationof the locking blades, and theadherence. of thevshoe on the xed' guiding member resulting from the elastic lengthening. ofsaid blades.

2.l A machine tool vise according to claim 1, further comprising a rod operatively connected'with said slider, andstop means carried on said rod to cooperate with said movable jaw when said tightening means. are operated forV shifting said movable jaw away from the stationary jaw so as to move said slider away from said stationary. jaw, thereby reducing the angleof. tilt of said blades and unlocking said shoe.

3. A machine tool vise according to claim 1, further comprising a spring interposed between the sliderl and the movable jaw to enable the slider to remain stationary and the movable jaw to move slightly towards the piece to be Worked, when that area ofthe movable jaw in contact with a workable piece is elastically deformed1 during tightening ofthe vice.

4. A machine tool vice according to claim-1, further comprising a rodv operatively connected with said slider, stop means adjustably carried on said rod to cooperate with said movable jaw, and a spring interposed between said slider and said movable jaw, whereby relative longitudinal positions of the movable jaw, the shoe, andthe slider, when the slider begins to adhere: in its groove, may bedetermined, so as to provide clearance for the unitary sliding movement of the movable jawthe shoeI and the slider.

5. A machine tool vice according to claim l, in which a widthwise clearance is provided between the sliderY and its guiding groove, whereby the movable jaw assumesv anangular position with relation to the stationary jaw, when opposite faces ofv the piece being clamped are not absolutely parallel.

6. .Amachine-tool viseaccording to claim 1 furthe;` comprising at least one iiexible blade connecting a forward and lower part of the shoe to a forward and'upper part of themovable jaw, said iiexibleblade being continuously positioned in a. vertical plane during unitary movement ofsaid movable jawand said shoe, and said flexibleblade becoming tiltedwhen lthe shoe moves relatively toithe movable jaw and away from the clamping face of the movable jaw and tending to elongate and thus exerting a downward pull on the movable jaw, whereby said movable jaw is rmly pressed against said flxedguiding member, and at least a second iiexible blade in parallel relation to said first mentioned iiexible blade and connecting arear and lower vpart of the shoe to a. rearl and upper part of the movable jaw.

7. A machine-tool vise according to claim 1, in which said movable jaw has the formof'an inverted box comprising a front wall anda rear Wall, an inverted. U.-shaped frame constituting three. other walls of said boxfand connected respectively .to-an upper and to the lateralsides of said front and rear walls, and abar connecting middle portions of lower sides of said front and rear walls and extendingvunder said shoe. A

8. A machine-tool vise according to claim 1 iurther comprising at least one flexible blade connecting avforward and lower part of the shoe to a forward and upper part of the movable jaw, said fiexiblefA-blade being continuously positioned in a verticabfplane during unitary movement of said movable-jaw and said shoe, and said flexible blade becoming tilted when the shoe moves relatively to the movable jaw and away from the clamping face of the movable jaw and tending to elongate and thus exerting a downward pull on the movable jaw, whereby said movable jaw is rmly pressed against said ilxed guiding member.

9. A machine-tool vise according to claim 8, in which said j,movable jaw is provided under its clamping face with a portion spaced from the guiding member and elastically deformable by the l0 downward pull of said blade so as tolower the clamping face of the movable jaw.

ADRIEN AUGUSTE REFERENCES CITED UNITED STATES PATENTS Name Date li29f795 Sapper Nov. 21, 1916 Leganes Jerrim Aug-U17, 1920 .1,507,815 cumner -i sebi. 9, 1924 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country f Date 425,019 yGermany Feb. 9, 1926 

